Borough of Norwood and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 125

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-57, the Commission denied a restraint of binding arbitration of a grievance contesting the Borough’s failure to pay additional compensation to the employee qualified in the processing of bio-diesel fuel selected by the Union. Given the Borough’s admission that all unit members were qualified and absent any evidence that the Borough made an assessment of relative qualifications, the Commission permitted arbitration to proceed. The Commission mistakenly applied the test for determining whether a grievance filed by a police or fire union is legally arbitrable. However, the Commission would likely have reached the same result under the proper test.

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-53, the Commission denied a motion for reconsideration of P.E.R.C. No. 2017-45. In that decision, the Commission restrained binding arbitration of a grievance challenging the Board’s unilateral transfer of unit work to a confidential employee outside of the Association’s negotiations unit. The Commission reiterated its finding that the Board had a managerial prerogative to select the employee it deemed best suited for the position and that it did not base its decision on the unit work rule. The Association has appealed.

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-51, the Commission granted summary judgment in favor of IFPTE and found that the Turnpike Authority violated the Act when a supervisor secretly recorded an “off the record” meeting with Union representatives and an employee. The Commission found that the supervisor’s interest in having a recording as a memory aid did not overcome the employee’s reliance on the promise that the meeting would be off the record.

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-50, the Commission restrained arbitration over a claim that a Sheriff’s Investigator was terminated without a departmental hearing in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. The Commission found that Sheriff’s Investigators “serve at the pleasure of the sheriff” and are unclassified civil service employees. The Commission stated that the PBA did not point to any language in the contract that mentions pre-termination procedures applicable to Sheriff’s Officers.

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-45, the Commission restrained arbitration of a grievance challenging the transfer of two stipended positions to a non-unit confidential secretary. The Commission found that the Board had a managerial prerogative to assign the duties to the non-unit confidential secretary because the Board had deemed her the most qualified for the positions. The Commission issued its decision almost one year after an arbitrator issued an award sustaining the grievance.

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-39, the Commission restrained arbitration over an “evaluative memorandum” placed in a nurse’s personnel file that stated that a corrective action plan would be imposed to address the nurse’s “unacceptable conduct.” The Commission ruled that the memorandum was not cast in punitive language and could be fairly classified as a subjective evaluation of the grievant’s performance. The Commission restrained arbitration over another memorandum that “determined that your actions constitute violations of State statutes and Board Policy. Such conduct shall not be tolerated in the future and will be met with appropriate consequences.”

In P.E.R.C. No. 2017-38, the Commission denied motions for summary judgment filed by two unions alleging the employer violated the Act by refusing to execute draft collective negotiations agreement consistent with the parties’ memorandum of agreement (MOA). The Commission found that although the MOA “is clear and unambiguous on its face,” final resolution requires a thorough consideration of other evidence.